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Superman & Lois Interview: Erik Valdez Talks Kyle Cushing

Interview with actor Erik Valdez who plays Kyle Cushing on The CW television series Superman & Lois

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Erik Valdez has made quite an impression on The CW television series Superman & Lois as Lana Lang’s husband Kyle Cushing, a fire chief with a strong defense of his town and his family while still facing some of his own personal demons. With a new episode of Superman & Lois titled “Loyal Subjekts” airing tonight (June 8) at 9PM ET/PT on The CW, KryptonSite spoke with Erik about the experience of playing Kyle and what makes his character tick.

Enjoy, and if you’d like to see photos from tonight’s episode, you can find them here.

KRYPTONSITE’S CRAIG BYRNE: What is the biggest challenge in playing a character like Kyle?

ERIK VALDEZ: To me, the challenges are in the little nuances of the character. I’ve talked a little bit about this, with my producers and writers – just the way that they approach the writing to him. He’s not a character that’s over the top or really big at any given time; it’s the subtleties that really make him who he is.

To me, I find that’s often more challenging as an actor, rather than being able to go super big, either physically, or vocally, or anything like that. When you have to play these nuances on a more even tone, to make them come off the screen, it’s a challenge. So for me, that’s been a constant thing of trying to do justice to the brashness of Kyle, and in the flawed elements of Kyle, while also implementing a little peek into his heart and soul, and then where his intentions are.

I’ve liked the way that he’s been written from day one, because you start at a place where people are like, “oh, man, this guy’s kind of a jerk, right?” And to me, that was great, because you’ve got nowhere to go but up from there, and you get to a point where the audience is really getting a glimpse into Kyle and who he really is and the fact that he’s not really a jerk. He just doesn’t know how to handle all these situations. He’s really got the best of intentions at all times, andd I find playing those little subtleties is definitely one of the biggest challenges.

How do you think Kyle would react to Sarah being interested in one of the Kent boys?

It’s funny. I listen to a lot of country music. I listen to a lot of music in general, but I am a bit of a country boy in real life. I grew up in Texas, and so I’ve got elements of Kyle, and I understand Kyle quite well. I was listening to a song the other day by Thomas Rhett on his new album, and there’s a line in there in a song called “To The Guys That Date My Girls.” Thomas Rhett has three girls now, and there’s a line in there where he’s talking about the future, to the guys that date his girls, that “when you pull her close, basically save some room for Jesus, because if you cross that line, boy, you’re gonna need him.” And to me, that’s pretty much spot-on with how Kyle is gonna approach this thing. He’s not going to be this helicopter parent that doesn’t let his daughter do anything. She’s a beautiful girl, of course guys are going to be interested in her, but you better not cross any lines, or Kyle will wreak all hell on anybody who does not take care of his girls, basically. So that one line in that song, literally, as I’m listening to it… I listen and see and hear things as Kyle sometimes… I’m like “oh yeah! I get that!”

You get to play guitar in Tuesday’s episode. Can you talk about that?

First of all, I’m glad I love the fact that that they’ve allowed us to do more than just act. They’ve implemented some of our other talents or things that we may not be that talented at, like guitar, and secondly, I’m thankful that they didn’t script a very complicated song, because I can play but I am no guitarista or whatever you want to call it.

It’s awesome to be able to do though, because music has been a big part of my life forever. My grandpa, when I was a kid, literally, they had a farm outside of Lubbock, Texas, and we’d be out on the on the porch, and he’d break out his guitar, and he’d make up songs. He’d sing some songs we knew, but he would just make stuff up and strum on the guitar. And so, getting to do that in this in this show, in this episode here, it really brought back a lot of fun memories, internally for me as Erik, of getting to do that type of stuff. It also gave me an excuse to go out and buy another guitar, because my guitars were back in L.A.. I was like “I’m not gonna ship them up here, so I’ll go buy another one,” and my wife like, “okay, I guess it makes sense.”

What do you think would make Kyle Cushing happy?

That’s a great question. I think at the end of the day, that’s what he’s really striving for, is his happiness. Internally, he’s got a lot of demons that he hasn’t quite faced yet, and I think that’s part of part of who he is. He puts himself last. It maybe doesn’t always come across that way. but he’s always looking out for the people he loves. In this case, this season, it’s been his town. Smallville is everything that him, outside of his immediate family, and so if he sees his people happy, if he sees his loved ones happy, that makes him happy. I don’t think he’s quite ready to deal with his internal demons, and we’ve seen that manifest itself in both the way he lashes out here and there and in his drinking early on. I think initially, having his people around him that he loves happy, would make him happy. And I think internally, he’s still struggling with what he really needs for himself to be happy, but that’s kind of an ongoing process, and I think we’ll get to see a little bit more of that as things unfold.

Could Kyle’s feelings about Morgan Edge change once he realizes the danger that he has put Lana and the town of Smallville in?

A hundred percent. Kyle is the kind of person that will take you for your word. You look him in the eye, you shake his hand, and he’s gonna believe you. That’s how he is, and that’s what he expects. And so, he will give people the benefit of the doubt, almost to a fault, up until he doesn’t. And when he doesn’t, especially if you cross him, again, mentioning how much he cares for his town and his family, if you mess with the people he loves, then you are 100% blacklisted.

We don’t really know how, how rough Kyle can get with people, but I have an idea internally of how he would handle situations like that. He doesn’t take too kindly to people crossing him or his loved ones.

Is there anyone in the cast that you haven’t gotten to work with much that you’d like to work with more?

I have not worked with Jordan Elsass much. We’ve seen each other on set, but I think a scene that we have in [Episode 9] might be the first time we’ve actually worked together aside from the pilot, when we, when we were all out at the farm there.

And Alex Garfin, too. I think I’ve seen him more than Jordan, but the Kent kids, in terms of character, they’re ridiculously talented, and I love watching all all of their stuff come to life. I read the full scripts, so I have an idea of what’s going to happen, but they surprise me week in and week out with the life they breathe into these characters. Especially at such a young age, it’s amazing. And Inde [Navarrette] – I work with Inde all the time, obviously, but the youngsters on this show are just ridiculously talented, and there’s also this enthusiasm and this youthfulness that they have.

I work with Em [Emmanuelle Chriqui] all the time, and I work with Tyler and Bitsie, and we’re all around the same age, and that’s really cool. But the days that I do get to interact with Jordan and Alex on set, even if we’re not necessarily in a scene, man, it just reminds me how old I am, and it just reminds me of the sheer excitement, that we should never let go of in what we’re able to do for a living. I try to hold strong to that I’ve had a decent career. I’ve worked a long time. I never want to become this person that just takes things for granted, and I don’t think I do. I’m pretty good about that. But seeing seeing this whole process play out through the eyes of a 17 and a 19 year old is awesome, man. So I would love to be able to work with them more down the road, if not for anything else, just to get a little dose of that youthfulness on set.

You’ve worked with a number of charities. Are there any that you’d like to specifically talk about?

There are many that I’ve worked with that hold a special place in my heart, and one of them is Best Buddies. It’s an organization that promotes inclusion, so they they work with mainly teenagers and young adults with Down syndrome and with learning challenges, in getting the rest of the world to be more accepting and put them into job positions, to let the world know that it’s because someone has Down syndrome doesn’t mean they can’t work and interact well with other people. I love what they do, and any time I get to work with them, it’s awesome. It’s just such a great organization.

Also, there’s City of Hope based outside of L.A.. They’re on the forefront of cancer research and they do a lot for research, but they also help folks that can’t necessarily pay for treatments. There are a lot of [charities] out there, and I wish I could spread myself a million miles then just so I could help as many people as possible. But those are the two that I tend to work with on the regular.

Overall, what has the Superman & Lois experience been like for you?

“It’s amazing” is the short answer. My wife and I were talking about this the other day. To me, this has been a veritable jackpot. Not just because I’m on a TV show, and I’ve got a steady gig… I mean, that’s a big part of it, especially given the state of the world and going through a pandemic, and, and working through all that… but aside from that, it’s a show that is proven to be successful, that resonates well with the audience, that is chock full of talent, from our writers, to our DPs, to even the guest stars that we have coming in and out. They’re all just such great people.

And my cast mates! I was with Tyler and Wolé yesterday. We went kayaking! We’re sitting out on the lake — we rarely get a day off all of us at the same time — we were out there, sitting on the lake in kayaks, and we’re just literally at this moment where we were talking a lot, and then there’s about 10, 15 seconds of dead silence, and it seemed like we were all thinking the same thing. We looked at each other and, and we’re like, “you know what? This is amazing. The fact that we all get along to the point where we actually still love hanging out with each other, even when we’re not working. That doesn’t happen all the time, especially in this industry!” All too often, you’re in situations where you’re forced to work with people that you wouldn’t ever really interact with in real life, or that you don’t actually really get along with. Yhat’s just not the case here. So for me, you know, again, it hits the jackpot. I’ve got my family up here with me. We’re in Vancouver, which is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We’re filming a show that is doing really well, that people really love, with some of the best people in the world. I couldn’t be happier with my current situation.

Don’t miss a new Superman & Lois TONIGHT on The CW. Our thanks to Erik Valdez for taking the time to do this interview!

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Interviews

Superman & Lois: Full Interview with Inde Navarrette (Sarah)

Full interview with Inde Navarrette who plays Sarah Cortez on Superman & Lois

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Last week, we ran some preview questions for “Collision Course” with actress Inde Navarrette who plays Sarah Cortez. As a new episode airs tonight (June 6), it felt right to share our full interview with Inde. We’re starting with relationship talk since that’s where the previous piece seemed to leave off. Be aware some minor spoilers may be discussed within.

KRYPTONSITE’S CRAIG BYRNE: Sarah’s preference for herself with Jordan would be for them to just be good friends, right? 

INDE NAVARRETTE: For me as a viewer, I would love to see that friendship. You know what I mean? It’s definitely something that was there in the beginning, and then they went straight into a relationship. I think it’s important to see them as friends and good friends and being there for each other.

Was it fun to film that scene at the party in Metropolis earlier that the season where the two of them were working together as friends? 

Absolutely. Are you kidding me? Throwing a beer and saying ‘here’s your beer, bitch,’ and then going back and forth… that was one of the best days to film. Me and Alex had the time of our lives. I’m definitely wanting to do that again.

Am I imagining things and seeing some chemistry between Jonathan and Sarah? 

You shut your mouth! You be quiet! What are you saying that for? What’s wrong with you? Sarah would never do that!

Yeah, it’s funny… me and Michael have definitely picked up on that. And we’re like, what is this? What is this? It’s definitely a question. I don’t know where it’s gonna go, but it’s definitely a question.

I love this Sarah and Jonathan combination. In Seasons 1 and 2, Jonathan and Sarah definitely had a relationship that was so chemistry-filled, I think, and it’s so specific to the characters. Michael [Bishop] did such a good job coming in, and picking up on that, and doing it in his own way. And it seems so beautiful, to where it still is there. You know what I mean? It’s something that’s been there since day one that we still carry. I think it’s definitely something, for sure. As Inde, I’m  screaming at them like “don’t do the brothers trope!” But then me as somebody who reads books, I’m like “maybe do the brother trope.”

Do you as a cast have theories on where Sophie disappears to when she’s not in an episode?

That is the biggest joke on set! We’re like “she’s in Guatemala!” We have this joke where she’s the villain and she’s secretly the mastermind behind everything, because she’s so angry at her family. We’ll joke around about the fact that it’s actually Bizarro Sophie. We don’t ever stop talking about it. And the fact that they even wrote it into the script… when we got that script [where Sophie was missing], I thought I was gonna die laughing, because it was a joke that we made on set, and the fact that it’s actually in the script…. you can only see so many comments before you go “yeah, we should definitely address that. Where is she?”

Didn’t you do an interview at one point where you just went “Who’s Sophie?” or did I imagine that? 

Yeah, that definitely happened. We talked about siblings, [and I was] like “I have a sister?”

Is there anything about Sarah that you wish the show had handled differently?

I think Season 1 a very big tell of who Sarah is. In Season 1, she’s extremely reserved, and really wanting to understand where everyone’s coming from. She’s still an angry child because of everything that she’s going through with her family and friends and everything, so there’s this understanding and connection between her and Jordan, because they have that understanding of feeling lost in a family and not knowing what to do, or having mental health issues. I think over the years, she’s kind of projected onto Jordan instead of taking care of her own things. I definitely love her arc this season, because she’s coming back to herself in the manner of who she was before, rather than solely focusing on on Jordan. I would say that we’re definitely getting there, for sure.

My personal head-canon is that Sarah is the coolest teenager in all of Smallville… so how did she not know who The Cure are?

I brought that up so many times! That is not a me question. That is a writer question. Call them, because I don’t know. Also, whenever they were talking about Alanis Morissette…. Are you kidding me? She doesn’t know who that is? Anyway…

Is there a particular storyline that you would like to see in the future for Sarah?

I would love to see her with the boys and Nat, and helping out…. maybe be the getaway driver.

She’s done a lot with her family. She’s done a lot with her parents. I would love to see her with the kids more, not being the emotional teenager or a kid.

There’s a scene, I think it’s in episode five, when they go to get Jon’s truck back… I remember watching the stunts and I remember watching it being performed and I just sat there like, “I so badly wish that Sarah was a part of this, because I think that she would be able to heighten that.” I think maybe that’s why her and Jonathan have such chemistry, because they’re the two in their families where they know that they’re capable of doing everything that they can, but the people around them kind of have a one up. Nat has her suit, and Jordan has his powers, but me and Jonathan can throw a punch. We can throw beer in people’s faces and can take care of something. I can be the getaway driver!

Do you think anybody’s going to let her be the getaway driver after last week’s episode, though?

That’s a good question. I would say her driving was phenomenal. It just was extracurricular activities that caused issues!

Earlier this season, you had a very charged scene with Emmanuelle [Chriqui] as Lana… you know which one I’m talking about. Was that hard to prepare for, working with somebody who’s your friend and getting in her face, and then her character slaps you?

That day was definitely something. Emmanuelle and I have such a good relationship. I just remember that time being so at peace with myself, and then we have to go film this scene. There’s a moment where I, as Inde, a 22 year old actress, have to really remove myself from Sarah because the things that Sarah says, as a teenager… my heart breaks. I hate those words, I hate them coming out of my mouth, and I hate saying them to Emmanuelle. That is, I would say, the most difficult part about being Sarah, saying those things. I, as an actor, have to make it to where I understand why she’s saying those things, so I could play it honestly, and during that day where I say stuff like “that’s why Dad cheated on you” I think the only way that could be is because she’s frustrated with everything that’s going on, and she’s trying to say everything that comes out. It doesn’t mean she’s saying it with anger, but sometimes you’ll say things when you genuinely don’t mean it, you’re just saying it, but it causes a reaction in the other person.

So to play it that way, and then to have Emmanuelle’s reaction, it was really tough. I let her actually slap me five or six times. Greg, the director was like, “okay, we’re not gonna do it on this one… we’re gonna do on this one…” There’s one time where Emmanuelle did it, and I was like “you’ve got to slap me harder. I love you, but you’ve got to slap me harder.” Then another time she fully clapped my ear, and as I was walking away, I was like, “I hear a symphony. There are bells ringing in my brain!” I didn’t say anything, because they would have been like “you’re done” and I was like, “no, we’ve got to get this.” Watch now me talking about it, they’re going to be like “you don’t do your own stuff anymore.”

We will see more friendship between Sarah and Nat?

I think so.

How good do you feel about the possibility of still getting a fourth season?

We’re really looking forward to it. We haven’t heard anything back. If I get to work with them again, I’m happy. We all keep in touch, and it was such a beautiful set to be on. So hopefully, hopefully, hopefully. If not, I had a phenomenal time.

How excited were you when you heard the show was going to be getting Michael Cudlitz as Lex Luthor?

It’s been a lifelong joke between me and Todd Helbing, the showrunner, about shaving my head. I’ll joke like “Sarah’s gonna shave her head in this episode!”

It’s a lifelong dream of mine to shave my head, and not only to do that, but to do it for something that I love, like my job. So I get on set, and I [met him], and I said, “what did you do today?” And he was like, “Well, you know, we did the scene where we shaved his head.” And… I couldn’t stop it from coming out of my mouth… I was like, “you m$#%$^$&#$%@$.” It was the first time I ever met him, so I think we got off to a really good start of getting to really know each other. It was amazing.

Do you think she could be his bald minion?

I hope so! Sarah needs to just be taken under his wing, and fully become his protege.

Regardless of if there’s a fourth season or not, are there certain friendships and relationships that you will take with you?

Everybody. This entire set… it’s one of those things where it’s so specific. We went through something like COVID together. We became a family. We got to know each other, snd it’s such a beautiful thing to be able to experience. I’m really close with Erik who plays my dad, and I’m close with his family. I’m really close to Emmanuelle and Wolé and Sofia and Tayler and Michael and Alex… it was such a beautiful experience, and I’ll hold it very near and dear to my heart.

Superman & Lois has a new episode titled “Complications” airing TONIGHT at 8PM ET/PT on The CW.

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Superman & Lois: Inde Navarrette on Tonight’s “Collision Course”

Inde Navarrette offers some previews of the May 30 episode of Superman & Lois titled “Collision Course”

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Sarah Cortez gets herself into some trouble in tonight’s episode of Superman & Lois… and when we asked the actress who plays her, Inde Navarrette, about this when we spoke to her this afternoon, she asked us “When does Sarah not get in trouble?”

Without going into specifics as to what happens in the May 30 episode, Inde tells us that it’s an “important learning lesson” for Sarah to realize that “everything is fun, until it’s not.”

“Even if you don’t think that something is as serious as it is, it is serious. Growing up, you learn that your actions have consequences. That’s really important for people to learn, especially Sarah,” she says.

And going into tonight’s episode, we also asked how much, on a scale of 1 to 10, Jordan (Alex Garfin) has been on Sarah’s nerves.

“I would say that it’s a solid 7, maybe 8 and a half,” Inde says about the lovesick teen character. “She’s really trying to work with him, and I think that tonight you’re going to see them come at a crossroads, and either figure out how it works, or go completely the opposite direction. But we definitely see a new dynamic of their relationship,” she teases.

Superman & Lois “Collision Course” airs tonight (May 30) on The CW.

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Superman & Lois Interview: Talking to Wolé Parks Before “The Dress”

Interview with actor Wolé Parks about Season 3 of The CW television series Superman & Lois

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Tonight’s (May 23) episode of Superman & Lois is called “The Dress” and it is an emotion-filled hour with great moments for many of the show’s characters. One of those characters is John Henry Irons as played by Wolé Parks. We spoke with the actor earlier today in anticipation of tonight’s big episode, especially about issues involving John Henry and the father of his daughter Nat’s new boyfriend Matteo. You can read the interview below, and you can look forward to more from Wolé on KryptonSite in the near future!

KRYPTONSITE’S CRAIG BYRNE: Considering John Henry himself has lost his wife, does he have any sympathy at all for Bruno Mannheim, especially knowing Pia’s situation?

WOLÉ PARKS: I think he would have more sympathy if we didn’t have Bruno try to kill him at the end of episode 8. [Laughs] That’s the whole thing! That’s the interesting thing, to me, about this season and the way it’s going. I think the writers have done a brilliant job of making Bruno and Pia sympathetic in some ways, so people understand them. But with John, he’s like, “hey, guys, you remember this guy? You know what he did? He killed me in this world. And remember how he strapped a bomb to my sister? Yeah, that’s still him.” I understand he’s going through a rough time. Clark and Lois are going through rough time, but we don’t see them killing people. That’s the interesting thing about what’s going on with John, and how he perceives everything.

Did John know Bruno at all in his own world?

That’s a great question. I think not. It’s never answered, but I don’t think so, because I think he dealt with Lex Luthor, and in that world, Lex Luthor was still in power. Therefore, that means Bruno Mannheim didn’t take him out, so, I don’t think they interacted.

Speaking of that other world, how is John Henry process processing Lois’ cancer knowing that she could die, just like her counterpart had?

I think that was really hard for him. That was the whole idea of the episode with the watch and seeing John Henry dealing with it with Natalie. I think John as a person, maybe because he’s a former soldier, he’s one of those people who “acts now, feels later.” I don’t think he’s the best at processing emotions, and with Lois, it’s interesting, because this is not something you can fight. It’s interesting because you also see Clark deal with this, as well. This is not something that Superman can save her from.

So, the people in Lois’ life have to figure out how they can process, and realize they’re kind of powerless to help in this situation, and for someone like John Henry… he’s a selfless person, he always wants to be able to help, and he can’t. I think it’s taken him a while to learn and to come to accept that.

Cn you talk about having a scene partner as great as Tayler Buck?

Oh, I love me some Tayler. Tayler can do no wrong. She’s so fun. She’s cast so perfectly. I love that she brings such a strength to that character, and self-awareness that I 100% believe that [John and Nat] are related. It’s great, because she doesn’t cower to him. I love that she’s so strong in her point of view. It’s great.

Now that he knows who Matteo’s father is, is John going to be even more protective?

100%. Anything that Bruno touches is radioactive, so therefore, that includes his kids. For John, it’s like “I get you’re in love. I get you feel like you’re happy. You’re 16. You’ll grow out of it. I’m trying to keep you alive.

Can you talk about what it’s like to work with Chad Coleman as Bruno?

Chad’s the man. Chad and I play around all day long. Chad’s crazy, but in a good away. I’m crazy too, so that’s the fun of it.

I love an actor who’s willing to take risks. You know, you come up with an idea, but then you play ping pong with each other, and a scene goes in a completely different way. I only wish that people could see the multiple different versions that we have of the scenes we take together. It’s really all over the place because we get to play. I love that kind of acting. It was so much fun. And for me, that flip of seeing the version of Bruno in the restaurant, and everything’s happy, then is like “is this John Henry? I’ve gotta kill you!” He turns that quickly, and I love it.

Can you talk about working with Emmanuelle Chriqui so much recently?

It’s so cool. I just love Em. She’s so sweet, and I think that comes out through the character. Em’s just a joy; one of the most pleasant and also emotionally available people I’ve ever met. She’s just a genuinely good and kind, giving person, and it’s fun to see that, because I feel like Lana is bringing out a little bit of that lighter side of John. It just that he has to juggle that with the whole “oh, this guy’s trying to kill me” thing. It’s an interesting juggle.

Would you say that John and Clark are on very opposite sides of the Mannheim issue?

100%. I think they both personalize it, but in different ways. I think Clark has personalized it because he’s seen the cancer struggle up close. He’s seen Lois’ bond with Pia, which has clouded Clark’s judgment. But for John, he’s on the other end, where he’s like, “guys, this guy’s a killer. He strapped a bomb to my sister! He beat me up and was about to shoot me in his restaurant!” I’ll say this: I think they’re both doing the best they can; they just have different experiences with Bruno that are clouding their judgment.

Come back soon for more of our interview with Wolé Parks! Keep up with @SupermanLoisTV on Twitter for updates on when we will be posting more. “The Dress” airs May 23 on The CW.

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